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Prevention and Core Services Monthly Newsletter
April 2025
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It’s no Joke! April is here and the light at the end of the winter tunnel is in sight. Don’t let “fake summer” days trick you into planting just yet. On average, Colorado receives 9 inches of snow in April, and the risk of hail leaving your car with a fun new pattern is a given. Despite those cons, April is a time of renewed focus, excitement, and hope. Buds appear on trees, bulbs are breaking through the soil, and Target has their swimsuit section front and center.
In child welfare, we turn our attention to National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Just like those hopeful signs of warmer days and beautiful colors coming, so many events in Colorado pop up to educate, reflect, and promote child abuse prevention services and programs. |
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Family day at the Denver Zoo (Sunday, April 27) is an opportunity for 400 animal loving folks to spend part of the day checking out exhibits and learning about community-based resources. Take a look at the Resource Section of this newsletter to read more about the event and share, share, share with families you work with. There is also a great toolkit in this edition with images to share on social media and other ways to recognize this special month.
Our team is honored to be a part of the work happening in Colorado to strengthen families, and you should be too!
❊ Amy and Yerson
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Family First News
- So much of our understanding of how the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) lives in Colorado has evolved since our first approved Plan in 2022. If your agency or county would like to request training about the different facets of FFPSA, please take a moment to complete this form. If your topic isn’t displayed, there is an option to specify what you would like to gain from a training.
- As Colorado's Family First Evidence-Building Hub, The Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab is reaching out to identify any evidence-building efforts for potential Family First programs or services in Colorado. This could include active or upcoming evidence building for:
- Existing Family First programs/services in Colorado
- Programs/services in Colorado's long-term Family First Strategy
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Any prevention service that helps families receive the support they need to stay safely together (and prevent out-of-home placement), and aligns with one of four Family First service domains:
- Mental Health
- Substance Use
- In-home Parent Skill-based
- Kinship Navigator
Their Ask: Are you or anyone you know building evidence in Colorado on a replicable program/service that could align with one of the four Family First service domains? If so, they would love to know about it! Please include any information in this table, and they will follow-up with any questions:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FqRQGZF9IgmWAlv0yEm_yd5MiSRSAE-U8d248I2e6-g/edit?usp=sharing
Core news
- An important memo is working its way through clearance to address consistency across the state related to Core Contract and Service Authorization entry in Trails. DCW staff recently became aware of a sharp decline in Federal reimbursement to Colorado under the Family First Prevention Services Act. After reviewing documentation available, it was discovered that the entry of contracts and service authorizations in Trails varies widely across the state and updated service types to capture all evidence-based services in an open child welfare case were not available to county staff. Trails and OIT staff have been working since the discovery to add additional service types to Trails and training with job aids has been developed. This information was shared in SubPAC on April 3 to alert counties to the pending memo and upcoming contact from DCW staff to schedule training with each county. Amy, Yerson, and Noelle Smith will begin contacting counties within the next 2 weeks to schedule virtual or in-person training sessions with all staff responsible for Core Contract and Service Authorization entry. If you have questions prior to the memo and/or contact from DCW staff, please reach out to Amy Sciangula.
- The Core Services Quarterly is on Monday, May 5th, 2025 from 2:00pm - 3:30pm in Rifle, Colorado. This is a one-time departure from our typical meeting day due to the Colorado Convening happening on the same day in Vail. Thank you to the Garfield County Human Services for hosting the Core Services Quarterly. The meeting will be hybrid if you can attend in person at 195 14th St Bldg B, Rifle, CO 81650.
- The Core Services Family Preservation Commission Report/Survey will be distributed to counties and tribes this month. Keep your eyes open for an email from Marc Winokur at CSU with additional information about the survey and your county’s link. As a reminder, this survey is required in Volume 7 for all counties who receive a Core Allocation. If you have any questions, please contact Marc Winokur (email) with CSU
- A friendly reminder, Core Services Contracts should be in Trails by May 31st for the 2025-2026 state fiscal year. Counties are encouraged to seek out opportunities to contract with providers for services that meet the needs of their communities, are required under Core Services in Volume 7, and are only available with the use of Core funds. If you have any questions about mid-fiscal year contracts, one off contracts, or ending a contract with a provider please contact Amy or Yerson to talk through your scenario.
- The SFY 2025-2026 Core Services Plan Template (Google Folder) is now available! Accessing the link will not give you editor access, only viewing ability. Please download the template/make a copy to your computer before filling out the plans for your County. SFY 2025-2026 Core Services Allocation will be distributed at a later date to Counties after they are approved by the Child Welfare Allocation Committee, typically by the first week of June. The SFY 2025-2026 Core Services Plan includes an Example Template that can be used as a reference to fill your Core Services Plan. Completed Core Services Plans with signatures are due by August 29th, 2025. If you have any questions regarding filling out or access, please contact Yerson Padilla at yerson.padilla@state.co.us (email).
- The County Financial Management System (CFMS) was implemented by CDHS in the year 2000, during which CFMS Codes were created for Core Services. Core Services CFMS Codes (Google Folder) can be found in the Core Coordinators Google Folder, which includes codes for Service Types, Programs, and Functions. Counties have expressed the need to update CFMS Codes to reflect updated service types.
- If you have been watching the budget process, you may have seen that the Colorado State Joint Budget Committee rejected a budget staff proposal to cut $3 million from child welfare services, which included Core Services. As the budget continues on its way to the Governor, we all have questions about how our budgets may be impacted by our state limitations and nation-wide changes. Reach out to your colleagues in other counties and/or us at DCW if you need a thought partner to have conversations with about what these changes may mean for your budget and service availability.
Program Area 3 (PA3) News
- The newly formed Program Area 3 (PA3) Work Group met for the first time in March to share the reasons for interest in this area. The development of a distribution list for points of contact at each county to assist in transition when families move from one county to another was a topic, as well as consistent Trails entries to populate new Trails reports in development that highlight outcomes specific to PA3. The group decided to meet opposite months from the County Prevention Partners Meeting to ensure the discussion needed for PA3 would not take over that group time. A poll was sent to select a consistent day/time and the overwhelming majority selected the third Monday of a month from 11:00-12:00 PM (virtually). The group will meet next on May 19. If you are interested in receiving the standing invite for this group, please email Amy Sciangula to be added to the distribution list.
Program Area 3 Work Group
- Monday, May 19 · 11:00am – 12:00pm
- Video call link: https://meet.google.com/xzu-uaer-pfz
- Or dial: (US) +1 516-261-2075 PIN: 948 430 953#
- More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/xzu-uaer-pfz?pin=1440820002275
Memo Spotlight
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IM-CW-2025-0014 (PDF) - Title IV-E State Reviews for Calendar Year 2025. This memo serves to inform counties of the Title IV-E state review calendar. If the county does not have out of home cases, they will be reviewed the next calendar year.
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IM-CW-2025-0011 (PDF) - Court Process Evaluation Timeliness to Permanency Report. This memo broadly shares the Court Process Evaluation from the Timeliness to the Permanency Subcommittee commissioned by the Colorado Supreme Court in section 19-1-109(3) C.R.S. 2022.
County Space
Email Amy Sciangula or Yerson Padilla your news, ideas, or questions for the September edition.
County Question: Do all core contracts need to align with the 5/31 end date? Or can those contracts end at various times during the year. We are discussing possibly ending them quarterly and trying to spread them out through the year. Is that an option?
Answer: Counties want to have all contracts in place that are needed come June 1. You are still able to add contracts as the need arises during the fiscal year, like when you have a one off contract needed for a family. The key is making sure the service in the added contract fits what you have in your approved plan. If not, Counties will need to submit an addendum that Yerson and I can give you if that happens. It is an easy process and we completed it with several counties over the past year.
Counties can also end contracts during the fiscal year, as long as you have another provider that will meet the 9 required core service areas or a plan on how you would meet the need. So, if you have one provider for Life Skills and that provider and your county are no longer seeing eye to eye, you want to have another provider available to cover that area once you end your relationship with the other.
CDHS doesn't dictate a lot of the county contract process because that is driven by your legal department.
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Meet the Morgan County DHS Team:
Morgan County Department of Human Services has a wealth of knowledge and experience in their Department of Human Services (DHS) staff. Combined, the director, two supervisors and two managers have a total of 119 years of casework experience serving Morgan County. Meet this group of five professionals who are dedicated to their field and the community they serve.
Combined, the director, two supervisors and two managers have a total of 119 years of casework experience serving Morgan County.
Amy and Yerson had the opportunity to visit the Morgan County DHS and their team when they graciously hosted the Core Quarterly in January 2025. Fun fact, Fort Morgan has a Sugar beet processing factory!
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Resources
- As part of CDHS's commitment to prevention, the Office of Children, Youth and Families, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will host the 2025 CO4Kids Resource Fair on April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance. The event is free for the first 400 attendees and offers families a fun and interactive way to spend time together while connecting with valuable resources. There will be 40 community-based, family-strengthening organizations present to
Join us at the Denver Zoo for our Resource Fair to commemorate Child Abuse Prevention Month. Bring the whole family and mark your calendars. Families receiving SNAP benefits can gain entry for $1 if CO4Kids tickets run out by showing their EBT card at admission.
- If you have any questions or are experiencing a “bug” in the Trails MOD system, you are welcome to attend Trails Office Hours through the Mod Squad! They meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week, at 9:30am to answer and troubleshoot any issues. Please come prepared with any pertinent IDs (Client ID/Referral ID/Provider ID, etc).
Want to see what's scheduled or see all of the calendar events? Check the ModSquad Calendar Link!
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Child Abuse Prevention Month Outreach Toolkit (PDF). This toolkit is designed to help you raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention Month. Inside, you will find graphics for signatures, social media, backgrounds for virtual meetings and a complementary activity.
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Training, Funding, and Employment Opportunities
Training Opportunities
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2025 Summit in the Rockies on Domestic Violence and Sex Offender Management, July 8-11, 2025 at the Beaver Run Resort & Conference Center. Registration will open April 28, 2025. If you have any questions, please email cdps_dcj_training@state.co.us.
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The Missing Piece: Courts Integrating Lived Expertise into Child Welfare System Improvement. Thursday, May 29, 2025 1 - 4 p.m. ET - Registration is free! Please Register if you’re interested in attending.
- The Office the Child's Representative (OCR) and its Lived Expert Action Panel (LEAP) are excited to offer a webinar for young Coloradoans with lived experience in foster care. On 4/14/25 from 4:00-5:00 p.m., Lived Expert/OCR Board Member Tori Shuler and OCR LEAP Member/CU Law Student Nyomi Davis will facilitate a youth rights webinar. In addition to explaining the rights of young people who are living in foster care or who have lived in foster care, Nyomi and Tori will share resources young people can use to ensure that their rights are enforced. To register visit the Flyer (PDF). The webinar will cover:
- The Foster Youth Bill of Rights
- The Foster Youth Sibling Bill of Rights
- The Foster Youth in Transition Program (FYTP)
- Available resources and service
Funding Opportunties
Employment Opportunities
As Seen Around Colorado
Thank you Illuminate Colorado for spearheading the Pinwheels in the Chamber event for the first day of Child Abuse Prevention Month. Highlighting the importance and need for child abuse prevention.
Prior to the event, Illuminate Colorado held their Presentation of 2025 Illuminating Leadership Awards. It was a pleasure to witness and learn about the amazing work individuals are doing for youth and families across Colorado.
The Division of Child Welfare staff (left to right) Carrie Emmot, Alysia Chang, Yerson Padilla, and Amy Sciangula had the opportunity to attend the event in the Colorado State Capitol. It was heartwarming to see many people from all over the state with blue pinwheels and wearing blue, including our state legislators.
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